Strategy

Am I Slacking?

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My company is growing and in order to continue the growth, I have to spend some time on business development. To make sure I follow through, I committed one day a week (Wednesday) to focus on business development, client relations and marketing.

Recently, still a little woozy from my fast-paced vacation, it wasn’t until Tuesday night that I realized that I needed to create my newsletter. Now I had a dilemma – do I spend Wednesday creating articles for my newsletter (forgoing my business development day), or do I stay committed to my new plan?

I got a little creative, pulled information from great resources for my newsletter and found a way to stay committed to my new plan without losing the consistency of the newsletter.

Because of this choice, on Wednesday I was able to create an organizational chart, job descriptions and post a “help wanted” ad on Craigslist. Plus, I did some research into project management software and made an inquiry with a consultant to help me with implementation. All in all, a very satisfying list of business development activities!

The moral of the story? There will always be competing priorities in a business, and in life. A combination of creativity and delegation is my solution this week!

Maybe it’s Time to Open the Door

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DoorknobToday I did something unusual… I opened the door. My front door, that is, to a couple of clean-cut Mormon boys.

Ok, don’t hate me, but when I spy these kind souls through my peephole, I usually quietly watch from behind the door, hoping they’ll simply think no one was home and move along to the next house.

But today, it occurred to me that I knew how to handle this situation with ease and grace, and perhaps a little more dignity than I have in the past. So I took a deep breath, and I opened the door.

I was able to look these young men in the eye, thank them for their good works, and gently disagree. We shared a laugh about an old friend of mine who spent her Mormon mission going to seedy bars in Salt Lake City because, as she put it, “Don’t you think those people need it the most?” Then I wished them well as they moved along to the next house.

Why did I find this situation significant? Because I realized it was good practice for real life. I’m sure I’m not the only person who finds it stressful to be in situations where I disagree or have to say no. But what I know for sure is that when I don’t deal with the situations, the stress internalizes itself. Over time, it builds, it erupts, it causes health problems.

So, is there anything that you are “hiding behind the door” from? Would it be possible to kindly look it in the eye and dismiss it from your life?

Maybe it’s time for you to open the door, too.

Tell Me What You CAN Do!

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A few years ago, I was listening to a client complain, “I don’t have time to do this, I don’t have time to do that… “.

We’d been having this conversation for months, and in frustration I burst out, “I’m not interested in what you can’t do, tell me what you CAN do!”

Not the most elegant delivery, I’m admit, but my point hit home. From that outburst, my client profoundly shifted the way she managed her business and her life. We identified the inner voice that silently kept her stuck in paralyzing inaction.

Can anyone relate? So what are you focusing on – the problem or the solution?

Now before I am accused of being one of those annoying “just think positive and bury your head in the sand if anything negative comes your way” types, let me clarify. I’m not talking about being happy-happy all the time, I’m talking about learning to direct your thinking so that you are in alignment with what you want out of life.

Now that I’ve given my disclaimer…

The biggest complaint I hear these days has to do with a lack of time, so I’m including one example of how to replace paralyzing thinking with a perspective that is more in line with your goals.

Current Perspective: I’m busy from 8 to 9, 10 to 11:30 and 2:30 to 5

By focusing on the busy time, you’re giving yourself messages that you are busy, there is not enough time, and you’ll get nothing accomplished. This subconscious belief directs your actions and becomes self-fulfilling. You’re likely to get nothing accomplished. With this perspective, you’re convincing yourself that you have no time at all.

Simple Alternative: I have time available from 9 to 10, and 11:30 to 2:30

Now you’re giving yourself the opportunity to see the time that was completely invisible to you before. Without rearranging a single appointment, suddenly four hours just opened up!

This perspective shift can be used on any belief based in “can’t”, “don’t have” and “not enough”. Try it on money issues, doubt about your own abilities or any perceived lack of resources. If you get stuck, email me. I’ll do what I can to help you turn those paralyzing phrases into motivating mantras!

Distractions and Solutions

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On a recent poll on Facebook, I asked for business owners to share the biggest distractions they face each day. I’m including the top three here, along with a few tips for minimizing the impact of the distractions.

WARNING: All of these tips will require you to change. Distractions are a part of life, and trying to eliminate them is impossible – you’ve got to manage yourself around the distractions.

WARNING #2: These tips are basics, and you are likely to think, “Well I already know that!” You may know it, but are you DOING it? Don’t let the “I know” syndrome lead you away from a deceptively simple tip that could be just the solution you’re looking for!

#3 Top Distraction: Email

I was surprised this wasn’t #1, actually! So how do you deal with the pinging and flashing that pulls you away from your priorities?

  • Turn off all notifications. This means all sounds, visual alerts, icon appearing – everything.
  • Turn off automatic send and receive. This means you receive email when YOU decide.
  • Put checking your email in your schedule like an appointment. I check at 10:30am and 3pm. No one sends me emergency emails, so even a response time of 24 hours is appropriate in my business.

Basically, you must reframe how you think about email. It is a communication tool, NOT a priority manager.

#2 Top Distraction: Daily Operations

And I’ll lump in another category, “busy work”. The best thing to do to deal with the pull of daily operations is to have superior priority and time management. I could teach an entire class on this, but will limit myself to just a few tips.

  • Plan your day the night before. If you go into work and then start planning your day, you may not get it planned until noon. And then, seriously, what’s the point? When you go into your office clear about your priorities and others make demands of your time, you’ll be able to easily discern where that new demand fits into your plan.
  • Close the door. If you’re in an office, this is a literal suggestion. If you work from home, then it means turning off the phones, internet and email so that you can work on that priority list. With focus, you will complete the list in much less time than you expect, and you will deal with the rest of your day (and the people in it) much more cheerfully!

#1 Top Distraction: The Internet

With pop up notifications, social media, chat, and icons showing us how many “friends” we have waiting, is it a surprise that we are distracted by the internet? The internet is a distraction machine, and because we can’t expect it to change, we must change.

  • Don’t leave social media running while you’re working on projects that require concentration.
    Change your home page from one with flashy articles that will distract you to something simple like Google.

The bottom line? Determine your priorities, and make sure your environment doesn’t cut in line in front of them!

9 Best Practice tips from Virtual Assistants

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I recently asked the Virtual Assistants on my site what they considered their #1 best practice when working with clients. The most common theme is communication, and I love how each Virtual Assistant expresses it in their own style!

1.  “The #1 best practice (in my opinion) is to become acquainted with the client’s work style, attitude and expectations – that allows you to see if you are both a good fit.”  Jeanette Hughes Barnes

2.   “Set up a regular scheduled meeting at least once a week with clients. Even if it is only a 15 minute call – this gives me a chance to ask questions and give them an update on projects.”  Candy Sugarman

3.  “My #1 best practice is ongoing, open communication scheduled on a regular basis.”  Michele Reynolds

4.  “The #1 best practice for working with my clients is organization. Staying organized! I have to be organized or I begin to feel overwhelmed. When a client emails me a project, I place the project in a TO DO folder in my Outlook. I then assign it a task, and create a time schedule for the day. When I’m running close to the time to end what I’m doing, I get a pop-up to let me know that I am running close to ending that project and it’s time to begin the next one. Once I complete a project, I move it to a completed folder. This is the only way that I can run my business successfully.”   Christine Davis

5.  “I would be lost without my Outlook Calendar.  Not only does it help me remember meetings dates/times, but I also use it to keep track of project due dates and milestones.”  Dawn Kramer

6.  “Listening! (Whether it’s their needs, wants, complaints, rants….just listening!).”  Amanda Lawson

7.  “The best practices I use for working with my clients are clear communication and follow up.  Clients are generally comfortable as long as they feel they are in the loop with a project. I also try to assess early on if they want me to have creative control of a project or want to take the lead and have me follow their instruction. If I feel the client may be moving in the wrong direction, I will sometimes offer a draft of an alternative design or approach at no charge in order to help them consider options that may be more favorable.”  Jennifer Molton

8.  “I think for me that the best practice with my clients is consistent communication and follow up.  Especially if I am scheduling their week, or they are depending on me to follow up with their clients.”  Kristina Andaya

9.  “Using online project management tools such as Basecamp or Google Docs is an easy and efficient way to share project information, tasks and milestones: from any place, any time!”  Danielle Seville

 

The Top 10 Questions for Socially Responsible Leaders

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I came across this article today by Gala Gorman of Wholistic Business, and loved the questions it asked. Especially because it showed me once again how the Virtual Assistance industry as a whole is an exemplary example of socially responsible business! Whether you use it as a template to begin a socially responsible business, or a questionnaire to evaluate your current business, I hope you find it useful.

The Top 10 Questions for Socially Responsible Leaders

The assets of your business traditionally include property, plant, equipment, and your customer base. Progressive organizations understand that business assets also include their good reputation, responsiveness to change, the ability to conduct a constructive dialogue with stakeholders, the ability to take advantage of networked resources, and a host of other non-traditional assets. Companies are increasingly adopting socially responsible business practices based on sustainable development to ensure efficiency, stimulate innovation, and create top-line growth. This “new” approach to business must reach into every area of the organization to ensure that goals and objectives are in alignment with the mission. To begin the discovery process, ask yourself these questions:

Leadership
1. Is the organization managed with an emphasis on being socially progressive? Today’s progressive organization understands what it means to be socially responsible and how that contributes to the welfare of the organization. Leadership must prioritize values and initiatives and incorporate them into the agenda in a way that is in harmony with the overall objectives of the organization. At this point, this “new” agenda must be communicated so that all concerned can progress it forward.
2. Does the organization operate using a cost vs. benefit approach taking into consideration intrinsic and consequential costs/benefits? Some may think that emphasizing social responsibility will be a financial drain on the organization too great to overcome. If that were the case, there would be no case for this new approach to management. Costs must be weighed against benefits – not just obvious costs or benefits. Benefits include increased productivity, customer loyalty, innovation, and countless others.
3. Are the finances of the operation managed to ensure long-term prosperity for all concerned? Risk is inherent in the business world. A business must invest in itself and its future, evaluating the risk of experimentation and development. Without continuing investment the organization is sure to stagnate, with too much emphasis on growth and development there is an abundance of waste. The organization just can’t keep up. To establish long-term prosperity, the financial plan must emphasize growth in a sustainable way.

Branding
4. Are printed marketing materials and packaging designed to minimally impact the environment? This is a great way to get the process started. Evaluating how the company presents itself in the marketplace can provide immediate opportunities to progress the social responsibility agenda. Making appropriate modifications to packaging is a quick way to gain some exposure and momentum. The entire life cycle of production materials and packaging should be considered and designs modified to minimize the environmental impact.
5. How has product development served to foster innovation and take advantage of advanced technology? The progressive organization is continually improving its processes, systems, and designs. Competition is fast to respond, so there is no time to sit around and wait for the next move. The services or products produced must always be ready to evolve to the next level of usefulness. With an infrastructure that prioritizes creativity and innovation, the company is always ahead of the pack.
6. Does the organization strive to get to know and understand its customers and their needs? The socially responsible organization recognizes that it must contribute to the welfare of its customers and meet needs in a way that improves their lives. Sometimes this improvement is highly visible and other times you must stretch a bit to fully comprehend it. Either way, there should be identifiable positive results for customers choosing to make use of the organization’s products or services.

Operations
7. Are individuals encouraged to increase competency and enhance their skill set to better serve the socially responsible organization? An organization’s people are one of its greatest assets. Each staff member has the potential to take the ordinary and make it extraordinary. From the front line to top management, the organization’s people must be encouraged to participate directly in strategic thinking and progressing the agenda. Staff should be encouraged and rewarded for pursuing professional development opportunities that make them more valuable and versatile.
8. What considerations were incorporated into the organization’s facilities to stimulate creativity? The work environment contributes positively or negatively to productivity and creativity. The organization’s people spend the majority of their waking hours in the workplace. There is a tremendous opportunity to use this time to stimulate the creative process and establish an environment that fosters harmonious interactions. From color schemes, to ergonomic furniture, or the use of advanced technology, the organization’s facilities should be given appropriate consideration.
9. How has technology been employed to bring the organization closer to its customers, suppliers, and internal resources? The world wide web has reduced our farthest neighbor to the “boy next door”. We have the ability to provide our customers, suppliers and internal concerns with access to information and a convenient method of communication that 10 years ago would not have been imagined. Customers and suppliers are literally a click away. By using technology wisely, we can provide them with the information they need to help us serve them better or vice versa.

Global Impact
10. Has the organization studied and demonstrated that it understands how it contributes to the global marketplace? Every organization contributes to the global marketplace in some way. There is a chain of influence that needs to be understood to fully embrace the importance of incorporating social responsibility initiatives into an organization’s mission. You can begin by tracing your product or service as it moves through its life cycle. As you begin to recognize how even a small change can accumulate and make a global difference, you will be inspired to take an intentional first step towards social responsibility.

The Top 10 Questions for Socially Responsible Leaders have been excerpted from a FREE Report “40 Questions for Socially Responsible Leaders” available at http://www.WholisticBusiness.com. At Wholistic Business, we believe that business literally makes the world go around. It will be business owners and managers that will ultimately change the world for the better. By incorporating a new set of values and priorities into what has proven to be a successful formula on many levels, we believe that business will be the platform for a new agenda – the Social Responsibility Agenda.

Regardless of the size of your business, you make a contribution to the global marketplace that impacts humanity with a rippling effect. As an organization’s leader, you choose whether that ripple will be felt positively or negatively. Even a small movement or change in a socially responsible direction can have a dramatic effect. Every day produces a new opportunity for change!

About The Author
Wholistic Business, a division of MetaComm International, LLC, is committed to assisting organizations in developing socially responsible business practices with a keen eye on productivity and profitability. Gala Gorman, MetaComm’s CEO, holds a Master’s Degree in Human Development, is a certified public accountant, certified financial planner, published author, executive coach and business consultant with 25 years of experience. gala@metacommintl.com

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